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Biofach 2026: "Ohne Gentechnik" and organic go hand in hand for GMO-free food

Against this backdrop, the "world's leading trade fair for organic food" in 2026 featured a whole series of events and panels on the new NGT regulation, which might be passed by the European Parliament as early as the end of April. Among others, State Secretary Carsten Träger (SPD) from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Martin Häusling MEP (Greens) and representatives from the German Organic Food Industry Association (BÖLW), Bioland, the German Farmers' Association (DBV), the German Plant Breeders' Association (BDP), IG Saatgut, the businesses Alnatura, Rapunzel Naturkost und Biosaat, and VLOG Managing Director Alexander Hissting discussed various aspects of the planned deregulation of genetic engineering and its possible effects.

How can a GMO-free status be ensured in the future?

The focus was on the following questions: How can improvements be made in the final legislative sprint so that the organic and "Ohne Gentechnik" (Non-GMO) industry does not face excessive hurdles in its GMO-free food production in the future? And how can the sector continue to ensure GMO-free production under the expected new framework conditions? There is no question that "ohne Gentechnik" will continue to mean "NGT-free" for organic and conventional "Ohne Gentechnik" products. The fact that both industries are working hand in hand on this issue was once again made clear at Biofach.

Last-minute political initiative by farmers' and organic associations

BÖLW and DBV presented an interesting initiative for a "political final spurt" on the subject of NGT. The two associations have formed an unusual alliance and launched a joint initiative for an amendment to the NGT vote in the European Parliament (EP), which would exclude the effectiveness of patents in breeding, agriculture and food production. If a majority were to be found in favour of this, the ball would be back in the court of the Council of Ministers and thus of the EU Member States. If they were to reject such an amendment with an EP majority, it would significantly delay the NGT deregulation as a whole.

Biofach 2026 program overview: Searchable program (search term "genetic engineering"), video recordings available for some events